


How do you get a stranger to swallow poison? Ans: You use a person they love to deliver it.

by bumblebeug (Madsmadsmads)



Series: Luktober 2019 [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Lila is a rat, Luktober 2019, Luktober prompt day 6: Poison, Mentioned Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Poison, cycle of manipulation, implied bad times, unsuspecting Juleka, unsuspecting Luka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 13:42:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21198599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madsmadsmads/pseuds/bumblebeug
Summary: Luktober Prompt Day 6: Posion. An unsuspecting Juleka swallows the poison that Lila gives her





	How do you get a stranger to swallow poison? Ans: You use a person they love to deliver it.

**Author's Note:**

> So you may have noticed it went from Day 2 to Day 6. It's not a mistake, I took some days off of writing to go to a horror film festival (which was a blast) so the prompts I missed were (in order of day): Pirates, Dark, and Witch. If there is any interest in seeing any of these prompts written out, please let me know.

Though many things could be said about Anarka, no one could deny that she was as cautious as she was frank. Therefore, not only did Luka and Juleka learn the ins and outs of sailing both motorized and non-motorized vehicles, but they also learned an extensive amount of wildlife survival. So, they learned how to splint a bone just as well as they knew how to build a fire out of damp wood. She was determined that no event nor wild plant or animal would harm her children.

Unfortunately, in Anarka’s desperate preparation to inoculate her children against the harms the world could deliver, she failed to remember that the population extended beyond the safety of her boat. And how whispers and rumours could poison the mind just as effectively as any piece of hemlock.

(And these were the worst poisons – capable of seeping into not just the fat and muscle membranes but into the mind as well.)

—–

Luka considered himself lucky to have a mother like Anarka. He loved how beneath her devil-may-care personal there existed a person who was cautious above all else. Deep down, he realized, that the only reason that persona existed was because she was prepared for all outcomes. So like any good son, he tried to take her lessons to heart. Even when he declared himself to be “too cool to listen to her lessons about poison” there was still a part of his mind taking notes. Just in case – because his mother was right. You could never be too cautious.

—–

Juleka loved her older brother. She loved her mother as well, but no one was as cool as Luka. That’s why, when Luka declared himself “too cool” to care about his mother’s lessons, she stopped listening as well. After all - If Luka didn’t need the lessons, then why did she?

When Lila came out of the blue with words as deep and sweet as rich honey, Juleka swallowed each and every lie with a small smile, never knowing that it was all filled with poison. 

Lila had all the connections. She knew how to make each and every person who became part of her inner circle rich and famous.

Lila told Juleka every day how much she loved and valued her. How cool she was – cooler than her brother. 

And each compliment dissolved sweetly in every corner of her being. Then Lila started pointing out how much cooler Juleka could become if only she dropped that bully.

Marinette.

Were her designs really even that good? Lila could provide her band with a better person. One that would put her band on the map. 

Besides, wasn’t Marinette the one that was breaking her brother’s heart? So, almost dutifully, Juleka began talking with her brother - unconsciously using the same tactics that Lila employed. How she thought the world of him.

How cool he was.

How much he meant to her.

How much it hurt her to see him suffer.

How maybe it was better for the new band to have a new designer.

A better designer.

One who might even like him back.

At first, Luka was resistant. Childhood lessons that dictated that “one could never be too careful” circled his mind. But, it was hard: he loved his sister and trusted that she had the best intentions.

That’s why he never suspected that Juleka was feeding him second-hand poison.


End file.
